Introduction

Are you planning on hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc as a vegan? You’re in the right place! In this post, I share a detailed, stage-by-stage account of what we ate each day on our 2025 TMB adventure – including where we stayed, vegan-friendly restaurants, and handy tips for staying well-fed along the route.

While the Alps are known more for cheese fondue and raclette than plant-based dining, with a little preparation, it’s absolutely possible to complete the TMB as a happy, well-fed vegan!

And, if you haven’t already, you might like to check out my earlier post –  Top Tips for Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) as a Vegan – where I share all our preparation advice and planning recommendations.

Contents

• Arrival Day – Les Houches
• Stage 1 – Les Houches → Les Contamines
• Stage 2 – Les Contamines → Les Chapieux
• Stage 3 – Refuge des Mottets → Courmayeur
• Rest Day – Courmayeur
• Stage 4 – Courmayeur → Rifugio Bonatti
• Stage 5 – Arnouva → La Fouly
• Stage 6 – La Fouly → Champex-Lac
• Stage 7 – Champex-Lac → Col de la Forclaz
• Stage 8 – Trient → Tre-Le-Champ
• Stage 9 – Tre-Le-Champ → Planpraz via Lac Blanc
• Stage 10 – Planpraz → Les Houches
• Final Thoughts

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Arrival Day – Les Houches

We arrived very late in Les Houches – around 11:30pm after plane and bus delays. Thankfully, the kind staff at Hôtel St Antoine stayed up to let us in.

In our email exchange before arrival, the hotel had confirmed that they could make us a vegan dinner (likely a cheese-free pepper pizza) but sadly we were too late for the kitchen this time.

If we visit Les Houches again, we won’t stay half-board, as there’s a great vegan-friendly restaurant just down the road – Kitsch Inn – located at the base of the Bellevue cable car. I snapped a few pictures of their menu as we walked past on our way to the Bellevue Gondola for Stage 1 of the TMB. The vegan options sounded amazing!

💚 Vegan Notes

• Supermarkets in Les Houches – Carrefour Contact and Super U et Drive – are handy for bread, fruit, and vegan snacks for packed lunches.

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Stage 1 – Les Houches → Les Contamines via Bionnassay

Accommodation: Hôtel St Antoine (Half Board), Les Houches 

Breakfast: Buffet-style breakfast with cereals, nuts, fruit, jam, bread, and plant milks – simple but satisfying.

Lunch: We hadn’t planned lunch well for this first Stage of the TMB, and ended up relying on snacks we’d brought from home. Luckily, it was one of the shorter stages, so we made up for it when we arrived in Les Contamines.

En route: Stopped at Auberge de Bionnassay for coffee and a comfort break; no vegan options on the menu.

Snacks: Vegan protein bars, trail mix, hickory smoked nuts from home.

Dinner: We can highly recommend Le Carnotzet in Les Contamines. We actually ended up eating there twice in one day – we headed there as soon as we finished the Stage to make up for our missed lunch, and then back again for dinner! The staff were very welcoming and attentive.

The menu has several clearly labelled vegan options. Our favourites were the ‘Planche Vegetale’ (hummus, aubergine caviar, olive tapenade with bread),  the vegan burger, and ‘Crozets à l’Italienne’ (pasta dish).

💚  Vegan Notes

• One surprise on the TMB: we expected to at least find French Fries (‘frites’) en route – the vegan fallback meal – but we never saw them once on a refuge menu! Lesson learned: always pack your own lunch and snacks.
• Le Carnotzet can get very busy in the evenings during TMB season, so definitely worth reserving a table in advance.

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Stage 2 – Les Contamines → Les Chapieux via Col de la Croix du Bonhomme (then bus to Refuge des Mottets)

Accommodation: Chalet Nant Rouge (B&B), Les Contamines

Breakfast: Cereals, nuts, bread, jam, with almond or oat milk available on request. 

Lunch: The owners of Chalet Nant Rouge kindly made us vegan baguettes for the hike – olive oil, hummus, and salad.

En route: Refuge de la Balme for a coffee and comfort break. They had oat milk available for our coffees – a lovely surprise! There was also a potentially vegan-friendly option on the menu, a veggie poke bowl (€21), though we didn’t need it as we had our baguettes.

Snacks: Trail mix, nuts, protein bars from home.

Dinner: After finishing the stage at Les Chapieux, we took a shuttle to Refuge des Mottets, where we stayed overnight. They prepared a lovely vegan dinner for us: vegetable soup with beans and bread, followed by a vegan “burger” with ratatouille and rice, and a pot of apple purée for dessert.

💚 Vegan Notes

• Supermarkets in Les Contamines are fine for basic supplies, but expensive. In comparison, the baguette from Chalet Nant Rouge (€6) felt good value.

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Stage 3 – Refuge des Mottets → Courmayeur via La Visaille

Accommodation: Refuge des Mottets (Half Board) 

Breakfast: Basic for vegans – cereals, bread, jam, with plant milk on request.

Lunch: We asked the refuge if they could prepare vegan packed lunches (these need pre-ordering the day before; €14 per person, cash). It consisted of a salad sandwich and apple, but also chocolate biscuit bars containing milk that we couldn’t eat – a bit disappointing.

En Route: A highlight along the route was Rifugio Elisabetta, where we initially stopped for coffees and a rest, but ended up having lunch! They had a couple of vegan options on their menu (not labelled vegan, but confirmed by staff) – we each had a delicious Pasta Pomodoro with fresh basil (€12 each). The staff were lovely and spoke great English.

We also had a coffee stop at the Chalet del Miage Ristoro, (we sat out the back enjoying the breathtaking views!) We decided to walk all the way from here to Courmayeur which we ended up regretting as it was mainly on roads – should have taken the shuttle bus from La Visaille!

Snacks: Trail mix, nuts, protein bars from home.

Dinner: Pizzas from L’angolo di Mel, a pizzeria in La Courmayeur with two clearly labelled vegan pizzas on the menu (with vegan cheese!). We tried both – the Yoko was our favourite! 

💚 Vegan Notes

• Vegan breakfast options at refuges can be limited; dehydrated expedition meals can be a great option if you prefer savoury breakfasts or fancy some variety to your breakfasts! 
• The refuge-packed lunch was pricey for what it included. Next time, we’d skip it and rely on vegan meal bars and snacks. 

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Rest Day – Courmayeur

Accommodation: Hôtel Bouton d’Or (B&B), Courmayeur

Breakfast: Cereals, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, a selection of breads and jams, and peanut butter (the most delicious we’ve ever had!), with soya and almond milks – a perfect start to a restful day.

Lunch: 4810 We Are Food – just a 10-minute walk from town. Vegan-friendly, allergens clearly labelled. We had the grilled vegetable sandwich (not our favourite) and the Pink Velvet dessert, made with tofu and red fruits – this was absolutely divine! 

Dinner: Returned to 4810 We Are Food for their evening menu. We ordered the Seitan alla brace con verdure in agrodolce e salsa teriyaki – so delicious! Dessert was the Pink Velvet again – we couldn’t resist!

💚 Vegan Notes

• Spending three nights in Courmayeur was perfect – vegan-friendly restaurants, supermarkets, and a fantastic hotel all in one place (our favourite on the whole trip!)
• Carrefour Express in the centre of Courmayeur is great for stocking up on vegan supplies – we even found two ready-made vegan sandwiches by Fabian in this supermarket!The “64 Mumbai,” made with pea protein veggie bites was our favourite! Prices here were much cheaper than in France or Switzerland. 

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Stage 4 – Courmayeur → Rifugio Bonatti (then bus back to Courmayeur)

Accommodation: Hôtel Bouton d’Or (B&B), Courmayeur

Breakfast: Same as previous day – our favourite buffet of the trip!

Lunch: Ready-made vegan sandwiches, mini jam pots with bread, olive oil crackers, and chocolate-filled vegan cookies, all from Carrefour Express, Courmayeur.

En Route: We stopped at Rifugio Giorgio Bertone for coffees and a comfort break (didn’t see any vegan options on the menu) 

Snacks: Trail mix, cashew nuts, protein bars, sesame snaps.

Dinner: Back in Courmayeur, we returned to L’angolo di Mel (we both chose the Yoko pizza this time!) and finished with a Pink Velvet dessert and soy cappuccino at 4810 We Are Food.

💚 Vegan Notes

• Staying another night in Courmayeur is a huge advantage as there are far more vegan options here than at Rifugio Bonatti. The bus stop is just a 2km downhill walk from the Rifugio.
• Stock up on vegan supplies at the Carrefour Express in Courmayeur; vegan options are very limited and expensive on the Swiss section of the TMB.
• Enjoy vegan cheese pizzas while you can – they’re rare on the TMB!

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Stage 5 – Arnouva → La Fouly (free bus from Courmayeur to Arnouva)

Accommodation: Hôtel Bouton d’Or (B&B), Courmayeur

Breakfast: Same as previous days.

Lunch: Ready-made vegan sandwiches, crackers, jam, vegan cookies filled with chocolate hazelnut paste, trail mix (all from Carrefour Express in Courmayeur) plus trail mix and nuts from home. 

En route: Refuge Elena for coffees and a comfort break. 

Dinner: We enjoyed a lovely meal at the Hotel Edelweiss (where we were staying overnight, half board) – fresh salad starter, followed by smoked tofu with rice, lentils, and ratatouille. Dessert was a simple apple. Staff were allergy-aware and already had our vegan meal request on record. 

💚 Vegan Notes

• Food choice in La Fouly are very limited. Booking half-board accommodation and emailing ahead to request vegan meals is strongly recommended.
• The Swiss TMB sections are extremely expensive – even basic items at La Fouly supermarket are pricey (e.g. €4 for a packet of crisps).

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Stage 6 – La Fouly → Champex-Lac

Accommodation: Hotel L’Edelweiss (Half-Board), La Fouly 

Breakfast: Cereals, seeds, fruit, bread, jam; plant milk available on request.

Lunch: We asked the Hotel Edelweiss if they could prepare us a vegan packed lunch for the following day – it consisted of a smoked tofu and salad sandwich, plus a piece of fruit (€14 per person).

En Route: We didn’t stop at any refuges on the stage (I don’t think we saw one!)

Snacks: Trail mix, nuts, sesame snaps

Dinner: Pension en Plein Air (where we were staying half-board) provided a lovely vegan dinner – vegetable soup and bread as a starter, smoked tofu with herbed potatoes and spinach for the main, and fruit salad for dessert. Staff had our vegan meal request on record and brought it to our table in the dining hall (meat eaters had a buffet).

💚 Vegan Notes

• The packed lunch from Hotel Edelweiss was very pricey; next time, we’d skip it and bring a vegan meal bar from home and extra snacks. 
• Champex-Lac has very limited evening meal options, so booking half-board is strongly recommended. 
• The Edelweiss supermarket offered a few vegan items. We were thrilled to discover the vegan Blueberry Cookie Magnum in their ice cream cabinet – the perfect post-stage treat by the lake!

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Stage 7 – Champex-Lac → Col de la Forclaz via Alpage de Bovine (then taxi transfer to Martigny)

Accommodation: Pension en Plein Air (Half-Board), Champex-Lac

Breakfast: Cereals, bread, jam; plant milk available on request.

Lunch: A fresh loaf of bread from the Edelweiss supermarket (which we enjoyed with the mini pots of jam we’d bought in Courmaeyur), and Vaya hummus chips which we discovered in the Edelweiss supermarket – clearly marked vegan and so tasty!

En route: Coffee stop at Alpage de Bovine.

Snacks: Trail mix, protein bars, nuts.

Dinner: Le Bowl, Martigny – delicious poke-style bowls with tofu, grains, veggies, and teriyaki dressing. Dessert was Alpro mango yogurt and dark chocolate from ALDI SUISSE in Martigny. 

💚 Vegan Notes

• Col de la Forclaz has very limited accommodation and vegan food options. We were really glad that our tour company, Mac’s Adventures, arranged a taxi to Martigny – this gave us access to vegan dinner options and an ALDI supermarket for a major snack stock-up. (I share more about our experiences with Mac’s Adventures in this post).

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Stage 8 – Trient → Tré-Le-Champ (taxi transfer from Martigny to Trient; bus from Tré-Le-Champ to Chamonix)

Accommodation: mARTigny Boutique Hôtel (B&B), Martigny

Breakfast: Cereals, bread, jam; plant milk on request.

Lunch: Vegan ready-made sandwiches (tofu & olive; seitan & mushroom), hummus chips, cookies, apples – all from ALDI, Martigny.

En Route: Coffee stop at Refuge du Col de Balme.

Snacks: Vegan protein bars, trail mix, nuts, dark chocolate – all from ALDI, Martigny.

Dinner: Sesame, Chamonix – a veggie restaurant, where almost all items on the menu are vegan! (‘Végétalien’). We had falafel bowls, sweet potato fries, and fresh smoothies. Staff were very friendly and helpful. 

💚 Vegan Notes

• Tre-Le-Champ has very limited options for vegans, so staying in Chamonix was ideal. 
• Chamonix has several vegan-friendly restaurants, supermarkets, and a health food shop – Cham Bio – where we were able to stock up on Taifun tofu and other items for our packed lunches.

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Stage 9 – Tré-Le-Champ → Planpraz via Lac Blanc (bus from Chamonix to Tré-le-Champ; cable car from Planpraz to Chamonix)

Accommodation: Chalet Hotel Le Prieuré (B&B), Chamonix 

Breakfast: Buffet with cereals, nuts, dried fruits, bread, jam, and plant milk.

Lunch: Self-made tofu and hummus sandwiches, rice crackers.

En Route: We stopped at Refuge du Lac Blanc for coffees and to shelter from the rain. Note: no water taps (bottled water for sale at around €5); toilets are locked and for overnight guests only.

Snacks: Protein bars, trail mix, nuts.

Dinner: Annapurna Indian Restaurant, which has extensive vegetarian menu with vegan options clearly marked. We had the Rajma Masala, Ayurvedic Tharka Dal, poppadums with vegan chutneys, and chapattis. All delicious! Dessert: We shared a pot of Alpro mango yogurt (from the SPA supermarket across the road). 

💚 Vegan Notes

• Stocking up on tofu, hummus, bread, and crackers in Chamonix made lunches easier. 
• The staff at Annapurna were really friendly and understood vegan requirements perfectly – a great dinner spot!

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Stage 10 – Planpraz → Les Houches (Chamonix cable car to Planpraz; train from Les Houches to Chamonix)

Accommodation: Chalet Hotel Le Prieuré (B&B), Chamonix

Breakfast: Same as Stage 9.

Lunch: Self-made tofu and hummus sandwiches, rice crackers, apples, dark chocolate.

En route: we stopped at Refuge Bellachat – the coffee here was rough, but the breathtaking views made up for it! 

Snacks: Protein bars, trail mix, nuts, sesame snaps.

Dinner: We returned to Sesame in Chamonix where we enjoyed seitan noodle bowls and a big plate of sweet potato fries. Dessert: our favourite Alpro mango yogurt again!

💚 Vegan Notes

• If staying in Les Houches, Kitsch Inn is the go-to for vegan dinner. We chose to head back to Chamonix to shower and change, so we could celebrate completing the TMB in comfort!

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Final Thoughts

Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc as a vegan is absolutely doable – but it does require some forward planning and realistic expectations. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of vegan-friendly restaurants we discovered along the way. (I’ve pinned all the vegan-friendly places we found – including those we didn’t have time to visit – on this Google Map, which might be helpful if you’re planning your own TMB adventure!)

Every hotel and refuge we stayed at was able to accommodate us with vegan meals, even in remote locations – you just need to email ahead to give notice. I share more on this in my Top Tips for Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) as a Vegan post, including sample emails we sent and tips for making sure your meals are covered.

Have you hiked the TMB as a vegan? If so, I’d love to hear your favourite food finds, and any tips you have for fellow vegan hikers – please share them in the comments below!

With love,

Sharon xx